Student Apathay at its Worst
Having come from Queen’s, where I was the Vice-President(Student Development) for the Engineering Society and an AMS rep last year, and even before that a fairly involved member-at-large, I felt that I’d seen it all when it comes to student government; the good, the bad and the ugly. However, the SFSS (Simon Fraser Students Society) takes the cake when it comes to ridiculously ineffective student government and student apathy. Here’s the deal:
Apparently, when the SFSS was founded, the core policy about making major changes to policy/constitution was written so that changes could only be made at the AGM, and only if quorum of 500 students was met. At university with over 10,000 students, requiring 500 seemed like a reasonable minimum number. However, for the last X years (I’ve heard anywhere from 5 to 14), student apathy and ignorance have set in big time, and the SFSS has been unable to meet quorum at its AGM. Talk about ineffective government, it has basically been crippled and unable to do anything important for the past X years (at least 5), and the kicker is that the only way to change the quorum requirements is to change the policy, which requires the SFSS to meet the current quorum requirement at its AGM.
To take it one step further, students here are so apathetic that not only will they they not turn up to the AGM out of concern for what their representatives are doing/not doing for them, the SFSS hasn’t even been able to entice members out with prizes for those who show up. Two years ago, the SFSS spent over $2000 to offer anyone who showed up the AGM a free half a roasted-chicken, and they were still unable to get 500 students out. This year’s AGM was held yesterday, and Evan finally decided (half an hour after it started) that he wold stop by basically out of pity for the SFSS, but didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary to change the one core policy regarding quorum levels. We got there too late, the count had already been made and failed (just over 300 this time). They were still offering door prizes to students who came and stayed for rest of the meeting, but Evan decided that the chance of wining some prize was not worth sitting through part of the meeting, so we left.
I thought that Queen’s student were apathetic, and our voter turn-out rates of around 33% were pathetic, but I’m starting to realize that we actually had it good compared to other schools. And maybe there are real benefits to holding your student government meetings in a pub (with the bar running) and occasionally proposing ‘joke-motions’ (such as mandating that the assembled members should play a round of musical chairs right away) – at least EngSoc has managed to keep enough students interested over the years to be able to function.
This is the online home of one Shane Warner, my place to attempt to tell some of my stories, as well as just spout off whatever comes to mind.
